Chapter 394: The Golden Age

“You mean…” Qi Xia frowned and looked at Chen Junnan. “Your memory only goes up to before today.”

“Yeah.” Chen Junnan nodded. “When I came out, I realized it was already evening. I thought I might have been sleepwalking or had amnesia. But when I returned to the classroom, I saw another version of myself…”

The rest of the story was already known to Qi Xia.

Based on the current information, there were two Chen Junnans that day.

One followed the original plan to fight to the death against a “Land-level” opponent, while the other inexplicably appeared in Chu Tianqiu’s basement.

In that case… the Chen Junnan who fought the “Land-level” was discarded like a sacrificial pawn and died in the classroom.

Qi Xia felt a slight headache coming on and rubbed his temples.

So, who exactly was the Chen Junnan standing before him?

Was he any different from the previous Chen Junnan?

After all this time, the only difference between the two was a single day’s worth of memories.

“This ability… it sounds just like ‘Life Unending’…” Qi Xia murmured quietly. “How did Chu Tianqiu activate it…?”

“What…?” Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin both asked in confusion.

After a moment, Chen Junnan tentatively spoke up. “Are you saying I was… created by Chu Tianqiu using ‘Life Unending’? Isn’t that *your* ‘Echo’?”

Qi Xia didn’t respond, simply continuing to massage his temples.

This matter was indeed worth pondering.

If Chu Tianqiu could activate “Life Unending,” then theoretically, he could accomplish much more. Why only resurrect Chen Junnan?

After a while, Qi Xia said solemnly, “I’m certain I don’t have an ‘Echo’ right now, so I wasn’t the one who activated this ability… Among the people present, the only one capable of such madness is Chu Tianqiu.”

Hearing Qi Xia’s deduction, Chen Junnan also fell silent.

The only problem was that he hadn’t been present when Chu Tianqiu activated this “Echo.” What exactly had happened at that moment?

“Chen Junnan, your memory spans further back. I want to ask—what exactly *is* Chu Tianqiu’s ‘Echo’?”

“Him?” Chen Junnan snorted. “I always thought the guy was an ‘Unfortunate One.’ Turns out he actually has an ‘Echo,’ but the trigger for it is ridiculously useless. He has to wait until the tenth day, when everyone starts vanishing, for it to activate…”

“Hold on.” Qi Xia interrupted. “I have a question.”

“What?”

“Two people have already told me that Chu Tianqiu’s ‘Echo’ trigger is ‘witnessing the end.’ How exactly did you all figure that out?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Chen Junnan said. “If that guy survives until the tenth day, he retains his memories in the next cycle. But if he dies at any other point, we have to reintroduce ourselves to him all over again. So naturally, his ‘trigger’ is surviving until the final day—which is why we sometimes have no choice but to protect him. Besides, even *he* has said his trigger is ‘witnessing the end.'”

Qi Xia felt there was a paradox here.

If Chu Tianqiu only retained two years’ worth of memories, he shouldn’t have gone *this* crazy. It far exceeded normal limits.

Plenty of people had been driven mad by the “Land of the End,” but very few lost their minds in just two years.

Yun Yao retained two years of memories—she wasn’t insane.

The members of the “Cat” team all retained two years of memories—they weren’t insane either.

Were their mental fortitudes really that much stronger than Chu Tianqiu’s?

“I think Chu Tianqiu has been planning something for a very long time…” Qi Xia felt a creeping dread. “He never lost his memories. He’s known me all along…”

“What?” Chen Junnan froze.

“What if…” Qi Xia said slowly, “Chu Tianqiu wasn’t lying, but ‘witnessing the end’ doesn’t refer to the ‘Day of the End’—but the ‘Land of the End’ itself?”

“Huh…?” Chen Junnan paused, then narrowed his eyes in thought. “If that’s the case… wouldn’t his ‘Echo’ activate the moment he arrives? Does that mean he’s always known me?”

Qiao Jiajin, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke up. “Then… does he know *me*?”

Neither of them answered him, each lost in their own thoughts. If Chu Tianqiu’s “Echo” trigger truly was “witnessing the Land of the End,” then the memories he retained were far too extensive.

Zheng Yingxiong, who had been listening without understanding much, finally got bored and sniffed Chen Junnan’s scent. He frowned and muttered to himself, “It’s the fragrance of ‘Scapegoat’…”

As soon as he spoke, he wiped at the nosebleed that had begun trickling down.

After a long silence, Qi Xia looked up and said, “Chen Junnan, tell me about it.”

“About what?”

“Your ‘earliest memory.'”

Chen Junnan thought for a moment, then nodded. “Old Qi, there’s no point hiding this. I’ll tell you, but you’ll realize it’s not much use beyond introducing you to a few more people.”

Under Chen Junnan’s narration, those long-buried memories finally surfaced.

His memories began ten years ago.

Back then, the “Land of the End” wasn’t much different from now—except the sky wasn’t as dark red.

The same dull yellow sun hung overhead, its surface covered in black veins spreading inward from the edges. The air reeked of a nauseating rot that seeped into your bones after just half a day.

Four giant clocks stood at the city’s corners, announcing the appearance of “Echo” users.

The most common names on the screen were “Scapegoat” and “Bringer of Disaster.”

“To be honest, Han Yimo wasn’t that bad of a guy,” Chen Junnan said to Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin. “But he spread a malicious rumor about a girl, and I’ve always held a grudge against him for that.”

According to Chen Junnan, Han Yimo hadn’t gone insane yet.

He was constantly tormented by guilt over the girl he’d slandered. Every time Han Yimo died, he’d return to reality and try to seek her forgiveness.

But the damage was irreversible—that rumor had ruined the girl’s life. She would never forgive him.

From her perspective, she had only rejected Han Yimo once. But from *his* perspective, he had been rejected countless times, slowly warping his mindset.

“Old Qi, out of the nine of us, two were ‘Unfortunate Ones,'” Chen Junnan continued. “Among all the rooms, our ratio of ‘Echo’ users was already incredibly high.”

Later, under the leadership of Qi Xia, Chen Junnan, and Qiao Jiajin, the group continuously participated in games, eventually becoming the most renowned room in the “Land of the End.”

Because Chen Junnan and Han Yimo’s “Echoes” were easily triggered, they retained their memories for long periods. Combined with Qi Xia’s meticulous planning, all seven members of the room awakened their “Echoes.”

Among them were:

– **Qiao Jiajin** – “Break All Laws”: Using willpower and subconscious belief to nullify any “Echo.”

– **Li Shangwu** – “Pocket Plunder”: Retrieving objects believed to exist in the subconscious.

– **Han Yimo** – “Bringer of Disaster”: Summoning calamities believed to be possible in the subconscious.

– **Chen Junnan** – “Scapegoat”: Transferring another’s misfortune onto oneself, willingly taking their place in death.

– **Zhang Chenze** – “Soul Shift”: Transferring souls between living beings through sheer belief.

– **Tian Tian** – “Artisan’s Hand”: Creating or crafting intricate objects understood by the subconscious.

– **Zhao Haibo** – “Disintegration”: Breaking down inanimate objects through subconscious will.

“What an incredible team we were…” Chen Junnan said with a bitter smile. “Most rooms we encountered had very few ‘Echo’ users. Having four or five was already considered elite. But we had *seven*.”